MPB is proud to be the world's most popular men's sewing blog!

Mar 14, 2011

Good morning, jeans lovers and others, and welcome once again to my bagel shop. I bring great news, piping hot coffee, and all the Sixties song hits from your youth -- or at least mine.

Our Jeans Sew-Along is scheduled to begin on Monday, May 2, 2011, which means we're just about six weeks away.
I'll be sewing Kwik Sew 3504, an in-print, multi-sized men's jeans pattern and I can't wait to get started on it (Did I mention I have about 8 yards of white denim in my stash?).

If you'd like to sew Kwik Sew 3504 with me, I have a great deal for you:

Purchase this pattern through the Minneapolis-based Etsy Store Sewtropolis and domestic shipping is FREE! (Shipping can be as high as $5.95 elsewhere.) You'll get the pattern for just $11.99

Patty at Sewtropolis tells me they have plenty in stock right now but don't tarry, especially those who need to have the pattern sent overseas.

I've already received mine in the mail and it looks super. (Thanks, Patty, for helping to set this up!)

Just to reiterate: you can sew whichever men's or women's jeans pattern you wish, or draft your own. I'll be working from the Kwik Sew instructions and you can follow along.

I've just launched our Jeans Sew-Along Flickr site, which will function exactly like the Men's Shirt Sew-Along group -- a great place to post your photos, questions, helpful links, and other comments. If you're already a member of Flickr, you can join directly through the site, or simply send me an email request (peterlappinnyc at gmail dot com) and I'll send you a Flickr invite. (The group is open to anyone to view but only members can post photos and comments.)

In the coming weeks, I'll be posting a lot of info about denim, but if you have some online or brick-and-mortar sources you'd like to recommend here today, please do!

Six weeks may seem like a long time, but as you know, time flies! Order your pattern, join the Flickr group and spread the word.

In closing, friends, what's been your experience with sewing jeans? Love, hate, or something in between? What's a good price for denim these days? Stretch or non-stretch -- which do you prefer?

33 comments:

I just sewed my first pair of jeans and it wasn't NEARLY as hard as I thought - skipping over all the fitting stuff (easier than trousers when your going for a tighter look - at least for girls!) I will say the one thing (ok, two) that made it super DUPER easy were a mallet for whacking the heck out of thick seams and my new favorite sewing accessory - the fabric glue stick (instead of pins) makes flat felled seam SO much easier to do!

I love making jeans from Jalie 2908. In the past year, I have probably sewn them 6 or 7 times. The earlier iterations have been worn and washed almost to their death. I love this pattern in stretch and nonstretch denim, but the fit changes dramatically with each fabric. I'm really looking forward to the sewalong. I am a jeans sewing fanatic! I can honestly say that sewing my jeans has changed my life--my attitude, my ease in dressing, my comfort level, my self-confidence--everything! If you love wearing jeans, but are afraid of making them, I strongly encourage you to try!! No one on earth has ever made jeans that fit my body--EXCEPT ME!

If you are in NYC, check out the denim at Paron's. I found the most beautiful dark wash, nonstretch Banana Republic denim there for less than $10/yd. They have various weights, and they always label the percentage of Lycra in the stretch denim. I also found a superb black stretch twill for $8/yd. Stretch twill makes fabulous skinny jeans--no pinching or discomfort, lots of stretch, but wonderful recovery so that you avoid baggy knees by the end of the day.

I was just talking about this sew-along with a friend over the weekend! I am getting so, so excited about it! Though I haven't decided if I'm going to be gutsy and just draft my own pattern (meaning I need to probably get started on that sooner rather than later, knowing my procrastination skillz) or adapt one. One thing I'm really looking forward to is finding sources for jeans-making materials! (Hopefully you'll do a post on this?)

I only watched the last sew along but am excited to try this one! Does anyone have both the old KwikSew men's jeans pattern and the new? I've sewn the old a couple of times, the instructions are great but the cut wasn't quite right. If they've made obvious changes to it, I'd like to try 3504. I see there's a choice of leg now. But it was more fit through waist and hip I'd like to see updated. I've also drafted jeans from Aldrich's _Metric_Pattern_Cutting_For_Menswear_ with better results. It's a straight forward draft, one page of instructions, direct from measurements not based on another block. So I might just use that again. Either way there are always details to iron out and discussion should be great.

My experience: denim is not a hard fabric to work with, I don't know how it became intimidating. I don't like lycra fabrics, if for no other reason, because they have a shorter liftime and they look worse with age.

I have a question about the KS 3504 pattern. How close-fitting is it? My son is a skinny teen--RTW with a 28 waist just barely stays up, but he needs a 32 inseam length. Peter, do you have a sense whether the size S in this pattern would work without alterations for a slim kid? I already made him KS 3267, a chino-style pant, and had to take out about 2 inches through the leg, then make the waist smaller still at center back. I'm not sure I want to get into that with jeans, though!

I still need to finish my shirt, but plan to sew along with the jeans sew-a-long. My husband has NEVER had a great fitting pair of jeans. I hope to do something really special. Just purchased the pattern. Thanks for the link.

Just signed up for the Flickr group! I hate stretch denim, I prefer regular denim for the um, holding in of the less than firm parts. I am making Jalie 968 which I think is now discontinued. I live in a smaller city in Canada, and the only fabric store is good ole Fabricland, I think a good price would be around $10 a meter? Fellow Canucks am I right? Or is there a better online Canadian source?

OK! I'm chiming in again! Since I JUST made jeans last week - I wanted a bit of stretch so I could get a close fit - I like my jeans tucked into boots, so close is better, otherwise there's too much fabric around the knees, although I agree with Elle too that regular denim is more comfy and supportive!

I bought some dark blue stretch from Joann's and wasn't expecting a lot. It has 2% spandex. I washed and dried three times and let sit out flat for a few days - I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the denim. It wasn't as wimpy as I thought - a bit stretchy, not cheap! I think it retails for $12 or $13, but I bought it with a coupon or sale, because as we all know, only panic-stricken last minute sewers pay full price at Joann's :-)

I've also got a couple yards of stretch and non-stretch 7 for all mk stuff I got at our local scary giant fabric warehouse, SR Harris - I paid $4 or $5 per yard, as this is a wholesale discount place (in Minneapolis - awesome for denim, if you haven't been there and live close by!)

Once I got a pattern to fit, I enjoyed making jeans. I prefer my Marfy pattern over the Jennifer Stern pattern. I got both to fit me quite nicely.

I've seen denim for $8/yard at JoAnn's to about $15 or $16 at Mood - cotton denim. There's linen denim and I even have a pair of jeans I made from 80wool+20rayon denim which I LOVE in the cold weather!

Non-stretch for me. I don't like tight-fitting clothes, and stretch denim has to fit pretty snugly so it has someplace to go without looking baggy by the end of the day.

BTW, I don't do the whole rivet thing on jeans, and I pick a fun button too.

Anyone in the UK with a source of good denim? The old pair I will be making my new ones from were made from denim with 2% elastane and I really don't want anything any stretchier than that, just so I get the same perfect fit.

I am looking very much forward to the jeans sew-along! I have made one pair of jeans, one pair of jeans shorts and a jeans jacket up to now. My experience is, that working with denim is much easier than expected, even attaching the rivets was easy as you can buy the necessary tools together with the rivets. I encountered only one problem which was topstitching over several layers of flat-felled seams like at the yoke and at the leg seams.

I very much prefer non-stretch to stretch fabric and currently try to buy some selvage denim which seems to be quite hard. It is not available in Europe, so I have to order it in the US. The 2 companies I have found do not reply to emails the way they should…

Does the KwikSew pattern have straight seams on the outside suitable for selvage denim?

Like Jne4sl I also recommend Aldrich's book to draft your own pattern. It is easy to understand and once the first muslin is made there are many possibilities for fine-tuning...

Hi Peter, I'm looking forward to making jeans, if any of my machines can take it! I've got some jean drafting instructions in several books which I'll be trying, and will nag someone into coming out to the Prato fabric warehouses with me to find some denim. Do you have stretch/ non stretch recomendations? How to choose?

I'm in! Ordered my pattern to make my husband a pair of jeans... and now the big decision.....do I use my Necchi Supernova or my just purchased Singer treadle 127!? I think I am going to go for it! Treadle pedal! Jean

I'm not sure about the Kwik Sew pattern but most home sew patterns have a mock fly which isn't nearly as nice as it's commercial counterpart. I've written a tutorial that you and your readers might find useful for your sew along.

I can hardly wait!! I can sew a corset and period costumes but haven't been brave enough to make real live jeans yet!! Wooo and hoooo Last time I made a fly front was in high school...oh so long ago!!Going to look at the fly front tutorial from a previous post right now!!

This is very exciting. I just got clawed at the dog park again yesterday and said I needed to get busy and make some jeans that doggie toenails won't go through. I think I may try to make one pair on my own before the sew-along but I will definitely be there for the main event.

I just found your site today via Threads and I'm definitely saving it for future use.

Would love to follow this as I sew everything for my little girls, and shirts for my son, but have to fall back on Wally world for pants. Would appreciate learning some good skills to make my own! Can't wait!

I think I bought the next to last pattern from Sewtropolis last night. I am still considering fabric but want to wait until the pattern arrives so I can test it out to see how (if?) it's going to fit. My previous jeans attempt was not very successful.

I am wondering if anyone else is going to try this selvedge edge thing and cut their jeans in a straight line using the selvedge the entire length of front and back side seams? It's supposed to be the hot ticket and apparently these jeans at retail at $300 or so. The Kwik Sew pattern looks as if it will take little fiddling to get the side seams completely straight without taking too much dimension out of the hips. Wondering if anyone else has heard of this and considering it. Seems the selvegde edge is also used rather than a hem at the top of the coin pocket, at the inside edge of the waistband, etc. In some ways it sounds easier than cutting edges and finishing seams.

a boy, a dream, and 10+ sewing machines

I'm a native New Yorker and self-taught home sewing fanatic! I started sewing in 2009 and today make all my own clothes using mainly vintage patterns and vintage sewing machines. Welcome to the warm and whimsical world of Male Pattern Boldness, where the conversation is sewing, style, fashion, fabric, and more!